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Internet censorship
=Overview= This page is currently focused on the Facebook ban of May 2010. Please see also: General Information * Internet background information page * Internet Filter Status Campaigns/Issues *Blog Crackdown *YouTube Ban in Pakistan *Blog Crackdown in India, Pakistan comes to the rescue =Facebook Ban of May 2010= Introduction On May 19th the Lahore High Court issued a notice to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority requesting a ban on the Social Networking site, Facebook ...Continued With immediate effect Pakistan's blog-sphere and Twitter-sphere jumped into action to protest the ban. A Twiter hashtag, #FBPkBan was created where Freedom Advocates, Activist, Technology Professionals and Entrepreneurs from the Pakistani diaspora have displayed an outcry at the recent High Court notice. Following the Facebook blackout, on Thursday May 20th PTA implements yet another ban on YouTube, Wikipedia. Twitter was the last site to fall victim on Friday, May 21st. Presently leading the campaign are @Sabeen, @DrAwab, @arrafiq, @Ramlas, @ifaqeer , @kidvai, @hushamahmed , @Jehan_Ara Other members from the Blogosphere, Technology and Business community are encouraged to join the movement in defense of Internet Freedom in Pakistan. PTA Press Release Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has directed all concerned operators in Pakistan to block website www.facebook.com till further orders. These directions have been issued in compliance with the directions issued by Ministry of IT & Telecom (MoIT) in view of decision of the Honorable Lahore High Court (LHC). Earlier on May 18, PTA has issued instructions to all concerned to block the objectionable link/URL on facebook which were immediately blocked. PTA has established a Crisis Cell to monitor all such contents. PTA’s helpline toll free number 0800-55055 and email complaint@pta.gov.pk can be used to notify all similar URLs where such objectionable material is placed. Khurram A. Mehran Director (PR) Events *Civil Society Strategy Meeting: Saturday, May 22nd in Karachi. For details contact Jehan Ara, President at P@SHA *Press Conference: May 20th at Karachi Press Club click for detaill Date: 20th May 2010 Time: '''5:00 pm (PST - Pakistan Std Time) '''Venue: Karachi Press Club map it Webcast Info: TBA -- Contact @DrAwab Update: Based on the Tweets received thus far it appears like the Press Conference was a disaster. OK! There is absolutely no possibility of rational dialogue on the Internet Censorship issue. Everyone, please stay safe.#fbpkban -- From @Sabeen There's is nothing that can be done on the Internet Censorship issue. Just be safe. And sorry. #fbpkban -- From @kidvai From the Press: Press Conference at Karachi Press Club Ends on Sour Note Newsline Report from Press Conference Situation Update (Real Time documentation of incidents as they arise) FORMAT: When posting situation make sure to include the DATE, YOUR TWITTER ID. *''Everybody - Problem at KHIi Press Club - gang of idiots outside threatening the Press Conf #FbPkban -- From @ayeshahalam @abidifactor'' *In addition to Facebook, as early Thursday (May 21st) morning YouTube, Wikipedia and Flickr have been banned by PTA in Pakistan. *Friday, May 21th, 2010, 12:43am (Pacific Time): It is believed Twitter has been banned from Pakistan. I believe twitter is now banned in Pakistan and the blockage of sites has reached 1000. May be my last msg on twitter as ISPs implement ban (via @Jehan_Ara) *There are sketchy reports as to Twitter being banned. It's confirmed that Multinet had blocked Twitter, additionally Maxcom customers apparently were able to access Twitter well until mid-night on Friday. *It's apparent that Facebook has removed the Everyone Draw Mohammad Day page reports DAWN.COM *Saturday, May 22nd: It's clear that Twitter was never official blocked by PTA. However, Facebook and YouTube continue to be. Community Outcry *Initial community outcry on Twitter #FBBanPk Excerpts: Blogosphere Chatter *''Islam isn't threatened by Facebook. You don't like the site, close your account. Maybe concentrate on unjust wars, occupation, drones?'' -- FatimaBhutto *''What happens to young innovators who have been developing apps for Facebook or those who use YouTube to showcase their apps or prototypes. --'' JenanAra *''S''HIT continues to hit the fan Wikipedia / Youtube / Facebook - is there anything else - lets unplug the Internet Backbone'' -- DrAwabAlvi'' *''PTA seriously needs some educated, teach-aware people in their censorship board, who know how to block pages instead of whole freakng domain'' -- HamzaZafar *''Crazies, censorship is censorship. Even if (it is) Facebook is wildly repellent, there's never any excuse to censor.'' -- FatimaBhotto *''Bottom line --it's bad for business and investment in the country, here we are -- ex-pats / hyphenated Pakistanis working towards promoting a +ve image through our respective platforms -- OPEN, APPNA, etc -- and there the Goverment of Pakistan undermines it's diaspora's good work.'' -- Siliconstani *''The REAL issue is not #FBpkban. It is the self-oppressive mindset of the larger population which rejoices in self-harm. Matter of concern'' -- RamlaAkhtar *''What's wrong w/ D media? Why aren't they getting that Facebook ban is part of a larger issue that at the end of the day could effect them?'' -- Siliconstani *''One bad guy in a village? Burn, the whole village down. Problem solved!'' --HushamAhmed *''Pakistan just banned YouTube and Facebook:http://bit.ly/b915AT. This is unfortunate, and bad for @Samasource workers there.'' -- Leila Chirayath Janah *What madness is this? How can this be countered? What purpose does this ban and censorship serve? Why can't we express and share our point of view rather than adopting this juvenile attitude of "I don't like your game so I am not playing?" I mean Freedom of Speech is a basic human right. How can we take it away in a Democratic country? -- Nadra Huma Ahmar Industry Position Below this is a list of Pakistan-based or Pakistan-related Facebook Pages that have been affected by the Facebook ban. List your page's name linked to its original FB address (Google to look it up) if possible, approx number of members (fans), and briefly explain the nature of the work you were doing. Thanks. Business Pages (Commercial pages. Includes services.) *uFone --99,416 members -- Wireless / Cellular Provider *RealityPod --69,868 members -- Technology, Robotics and Gadgets Portal *Mobilink -- 28,448 members -- Wireless / Cellular Service Provider *Zong -- 20,882 members -- Wireless/Cellular Provider *DELL Pakistan -- 26,294 members -- equipment provider *DAWN.COM -- 16,000 members -- provides news *PEPSI Pakistan -- 13,271 members -- beverage manufacturer *Google Pakistan --4,206 members -- Google.com.pk Facebook presence *Newsweek Pakistan -- 7,802 members -- news provider *Cinnabon Pakistan -- 4,465 members *Wi-Tribe 5,272 members -- Wireless Broadband Provider *Levi's Pakistan -- 18,902 members *ETail.Pk -- 3,821 members -- Online Store *Standard Charter Pakistan -- 1,333 members -- Bank *CIO Pakistan -- 863 members -- provides news *Inspurate Design -- Graphic & Web Design Service provider *Karachi Snob -- Online Fine Business Directory of Karachi *Daaman -- 47,101 members -- Fashion label *iinix -- Systems services *Telenor Easy Paisa -- 24,000 members -- micro-payments and mobile banking service. Everyday citizen is direct beneficiary of this product and its page *WordPL (the voice of the small biz owner) - 112 members -- Helping Pakistanis Make an Online Living *PakInfo (Be Informed Always - Its all about Pakistan) - 183 members -- Total Pakistan based online news page. Get all the latest news related to different fields of Pakistan on your Profile. NGOs/ Community-Based Organizations' Pages All non-profit, advocacy organizations) *The Second Floor (T2F) -- 5,462 members -- Community organizations *Participatory Youth Development Network (PYDN)-Pakistan- 3,302 members Youth-Led nation-wide Youth Organization (www.pydn.org) *Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) -- 2,717 members *TiE Lahore Chapter *TiE Karachi Chapter *Strengthening Democracy Through Parliamentary Debate *Pakistan Changemakers Hub -- 311 members -- Connecting community leaders with the public, to enable change for all *Pakistan Sustainability Network -- 1170 members -- Connecting people and organizations working for environment (renewable/ alternate energy, recycling, cleanliness drives, carbon footprint reduction, etc.) *SAYA Trust -- 801 members -- All fundraising activity for this school for the IDP's living in slums of Islamabad is conducted via a Facebook campaign. Organizational/ Institutional Pages (Universities, governmental agencies, utilities, etc.) *LUMS -- 3,533 members --University *IBA -- 1,186 members - University *Karachi University -- 738 members -- University *NED -- 3,823 member -- University *Mehran University *KESC-Official -- 5,000 members -- Karachi Electric Supply Corporation uses this page to stay in contact with consumers Government Pages *Pakistan Army -- 13,980 members *Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC)-- 3,874 members -- Pakistan Government *U.S. Embassy Pakistan -- 1,619 members Personal Pages (Including celebrities and everyday citizens) Opinion *Why I won't boycott Facebook, Blog post by @Fursid *Hypocrisy of PTA, by Huma Imtiaz *Pakistan Electronic Purdah / Veil, by @AbidBeli *Two Pakistan Blog post by ZainabJeewanjee *It's a Good thing Facebook was banned writes Sami Shah, writer and standup comedian *How Pakistani Taliban is like Facebook , opinion article by Max Fisher, Atlantic Wire *Pakistan should ban extremism not facebook writes, Arsalan Iftikhar, an International Human Rights Lawyer *Defenders of Internet Freedom protest Facebook Ban, writes BeenaSarwar *Pakistan - Crackdown on Social Networking Sites, blog post by Siliconstani *Two cents on Facebook Ban Saga in Pakistan, Blog post by @raheel_lakhani *Pakistan Quashing Net Freedom, by Sam DuPont *Thoughts on Internet Censorship, Press Conferences, and Protests, blog's SabeenMahmud Press Coverage *ABC News Report: Facebook Banned in Pakistan *Facebook & Islam: Culture Clash, PC World *Facebook Disappointment, Mulls Situation, The Express Tribune *Pakistan vs. The Internet: YouTube Blocked, The Express Tribune *Political Cartoonist split on usefulness of everyone Draw Mohammad Day *Pakistan Blocks YouTube, AP Wire / Yahoo News *Press Conference at Karachi Press Club Ends on Sour Note *Pakstan Blocks Facebook and YouTube, CNN Reports *Pakistan Blocks YouTube, Mashable Report *USA Today Reports on Facebook ad YouTube ban *Wallstreet Journal Report *New York Times Reports *"Draw Mohammad Day" Pakistan Bans YouTube and Facebook, Washington Post *Pakistan Blocks YouTube and Wikipedia, Computer world *Twitter Banned, Reports OneIndia *Now even Twitter is Blocked, Reports Silicon India *Viewpoint: Pakistani Bloggers on Internet Ban, BBC *]acebook Pulls "Everybody Draw Mohammad Page", Reports WebGuild.org *Newsline Report on 5/21 Press Conference at Karachi Press Club *Facebook Ban: 38 Major Businesses and NGO Affected by FB Ban, Tribune *Social Media Marketing Takes a Hit, Express Tribune *Pakistan List of Global Websites blocked Swells to 1,000, Express Tribune *Google Chief Suspects ulterior motive in Pakistan Advocacy Links :These links are focused on the Facebook ban. For a fuller list, please see main page on the Internet in Pakistan * Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) *We stand against DrawDay - FB Page *Draw Mohammad Day FB Page Previous Campaigns *Blog Crackdown *YouTube Ban in Pakistan *Blog Crackdown in India, Pakistan comes to the rescue Site created on Wednesday, May 20th, 2010 by ARRafiq Category:Internet Category:Internet Censorship Category:Facebook Category:Freedom of Speech